Reports and More

This second edition of “Clear Path to a Clean Energy Future” updates the inaugural edition, tracking the power sector, clean technology, and policy trends in America. In our previous report, we identified that utility commitments contribute to significant additional reductions in emissions beyond what was projected in our reference case. Still, underinvestments in new technologies and retirement of the existing nuclear fleet could result in a rebound in emissions out to 2050.

The purpose of this memo is to provide recommendations for the implementation provisions related to “energy communities” for certain clean energy tax credits. This memo includes original data collection and mapping to demonstrate reasonable statute interpretations.

Hundreds of gigawatts of energy projects spend years in the interconnection process, where projects undergo evaluation by transmission providers, regional grid operators or utilities, to determine their impact on the broader transmission system. The interconnection queue, the list of projects under evaluation for grid connection, has become so dysfunctional that some transmission providers are freezing their process to work through the project backlog and pausing the acceptance of new applicants.

This white paper provides recommendations for implementing the Carbon Dioxide Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (CIFIA) program within the Department of Energy (DOE). The buildout of infrastructure is needed to transport CO2 from where it is captured to where it can be utilized or securely sequestered underground.

This memo provides recommendations for implementing energy storage demonstration programs within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The IIJA energy storage demonstration programs will advance DOE’s goals under the ESGC and Storage Shot. For energy storage, now is the time to innovate here, make here, and deploy everywhere.

CEQ’s action to provide guidance on CCUS projects is timely, since the bipartisan IIJA contains significant investments into CCUS technology. As CEQ issues and implements guidance, the Agency should not undermine the robust infrastructure programs contained in the IIJA. ClearPath encourages the staff to continue considering new ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the CCUS permitting process.

This response provides recommendations to the Department of Energy for the Advanced Nuclear Fuel Availity Program which supports private industry in the creation of a domestic HALEU supply chain.

This memo provides recommendations for implementation of a clean industrial demonstration program within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The industrial investments in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provide the opportunity to demonstrate a portfolio of technologies to reduce industrial emissions.

The Energy Act of 2020 authorized new public-private partnerships to demonstrate a series of new technologies that are required for affordable deep decarbonization. IIJA in turn directly appropriated those funds for many of these demonstration programs to begin in earnest.

This memo provides recommendations for the successful deployment of carbon removal solutions and implementation of direct air capture (DAC) hubs by the Department of Energy (DOE), as authorized and appropriated under Section 40308 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA​​; P.L. 117-58).

The purpose of this memo is to provide recommendations for the successful deployment of regional clean hydrogen hubs by the Department of Energy (DOE), as authorized under Section 40314 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funded a $2.5 billion carbon capture demonstration program within the Department of Energy. It is imperative that this demonstration program be implemented efficiently to lower the cost of CCUS technology, successfully prove out the technology at commercial scale, and ensure prudent stewardship of taxpayers’ dollars.

There is a legitimate need to improve regulatory certainty in the NEPA process. The purpose of the 2020 NEPA revision was to enhance the efficiency of the permitting process and remove unnecessary and burdensome delays that have hampered infrastructure and other important projects. Removing unnecessary barriers to clean energy is essential to meeting U.S. national security objectives, reliable electricity needs, and global emissions reduction objectives.

As the world moves toward a clean energy future, every clean technology tool in the toolbox will be needed. One new area of innovation that has gained popularity in recent years is hydrogen. As many countries begin to include hydrogen in their decarbonization efforts, a global race to supply clean hydrogen has begun.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill recently passed by the Senate contains significant investments in research, development, and demonstration of clean energy and climate technology. These include $27 billion for grid infrastructure and $21.5 billion for a new office of clean energy demonstrations, which will lead to demonstrations of advanced clean energy technologies.

America has greatly reduced emissions in the power sector over the last 15 years, yet as this report shows, the easy part is over and power sector emission reductions could flatline under current conditions.

Due to the incentives offered by the section 45Q tax credit and the recent two-year extension of the time to qualify for the credit, a large influx of sequestration projects is anticipated in the development pipeline, and a growing number of states will be seeking to obtain primacy for the Class VI program.

The United States can only build new clean energy projects and reduce carbon emissions as fast as we can responsibly and efficiently permit the projects to do so. Modernizing the federal permitting process, such as through the optimal use of Categorical Exclusions (CATEXs) for actions that are known to have negligible environmental impact, is one of the most significant actions regulators can take to support the transition to cleaner energy sources.

The main goal of Part 53 is to enable an efficient and effective licensing process for new reactor technologies. The rule needs to ensure safety, be practical and useful, and have the potential to unlock a variety of new nuclear technologies that can operate beyond electricity generation sources operated by utilities.

The next generation of nuclear reactors, collectively called “advanced reactors,” are making substantial progress towards commercialization and are poised to offer new tools to provide clean energy. Today is a watershed moment in the advanced reactor space, with more than 30 commercial scale demonstrations of different designs in progress across the globe.

Low carbon hydrogen has a versatility that lends itself to decarbonization of multiple energy consuming sectors in the United States. Hydrogen can be used as zero carbon fuel in the power and transportation sectors, and also as an energy storage medium to mitigate the variability of renewable electricity. For these reasons, hydrogen has emerged as a focal point of broad decarbonization efforts.

On April 22, 2021, the Biden Administration formally submitted an updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement. This new goal would require a rate of acceleration in clean energy deployment the U.S. has never previously reached.

For centuries, concrete has helped advance society as the basic building block in our roads, buildings, and bridges. Today, cement (i.e., the “glue” in concrete mixtures) is produced at an annual rate of 86 million tons in the U.S., and 4.1 billion tons worldwide. Current production methods of cement generate significant carbon emissions.

Harnessing water for beneficial uses has existed for centuries. Ancient Greeks and Romans used water in ways similar to industrial processes today – for grinding wheat, agriculture via aqueducts, and medicinal purposes. Modern hydropower or hydroelectric power has been utilized for over one hundred years and remains a clean, reliable electricity asset.

There is a virtually limitless supply of energy right beneath us: geothermal heat. The Earth’s core holds heat that radiates out to the subsurface. This heat can be harnessed for a variety of uses including electricity generation, heating and cooling of buildings, and other industrial and hybrid applications. Geothermal energy is clean, safe, and renewable.

A viable future U.S. advanced nuclear industry needs Emergency Planning Zones (EPZs) based on the specific safety characteristics of a reactor design. EPZs for advanced reactors should be appropriately based on the new generation of advanced reactor technologies.

Recent reports from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) have indicated a 14 percent decline in U.S. energy-related carbon emissions from 2005 to 2017. The main driver behind this emissions reduction is that more electricity has been generated from natural gas than from other fossil fuels, and natural gas is a less carbon-intensive fuel than either coal or petroleum.

The magnitude of the climate and energy challenge is hard to overstate. Any effort to deeply decarbonize our energy system is going to require that electricity generation be virtually carbon-free. And without nuclear, we simply can’t get there from here.

Nuclear power stands to be a vital part of any solution. By streamlining unnecessarily burdensome regulatory requirements to facilitate the commercialization of new, advanced reactor designs with enhanced safety designs, the United States could (and must) play a leading role in addressing climate change, as well as recapturing global leadership in nuclear technology.

ClearPath maintains that the manner in which NEPA is implemented in practice may be greatly streamlined without sacrificing the meaningfulness or transparency of the environmental review process. Since their promulgation in 1978, CEQ’s NEPA regulations, codified at 40 CFR §§ 1500–1508, have undergone a single substantive revision.

Advanced nuclear reactors have the potential to revolutionize our energy system. In order to prove these technologies, our scientists need access to a type of fuel (called 19.75% LEU) that’s not available on the market today.

A value of solar tariff, a methodology proposed by various national laboratories, think tanks, and consultants, and now in place in a few states, would promote market-driven solar growth and lay the foundation for other emerging residential and commercial scale energy technologies.

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) owns 24% of all American hydropower capacity, making it the largest owner of hydropower in America. Dams owned by the Corps make as much electricity as the entire state of Nevada, worth about $5 billion annually on wholesale markets. Unfortunately, the majority of Corps plants were built over 50 years ago and are in dire need of upgrades.

Policymakers have used the tax code to meet energy policy goals since the 1970’s, successfully promoting both the security and affordability of our energy supply. Our energy supply has diversified greatly since then, and it is widely agreed that we should pursue an “all of the above” energy strategy.

Hydropower’s role in the global energy mix is large and it will continue to grow. Over 1 billion people lack access to electricity today. Global hydropower capacity is expected to grow 73% in the next 10-20 years to help meet demand and minimize emissions.

With today’s technologies, natural gas vehicles are 6-11% cleaner than gasoline but not as clean as hybrids or battery electrics. The potential of hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicles (whose energy could be derived from natural gas) is much greater: emissions from hydrogen vehicles are already comparable to hybrid electric vehicles.

One untapped opportunity is extracting rare earth elements and critical minerals from coal waste. These minerals are used in virtually every modern product, from refrigerators to cars to cell phones. The United States has no domestic production capability and China produces 80% of global supply. For this reason, a number of efforts have been started to 1) improve US economic security and 2) to establish a new revenue stream to the coal industry.

Advanced nuclear reactors have the potential to revolutionize our energy system. In order to prove these technologies, our scientists need access to a type of fuel (called 19.75% LEU) that’s not available on the market today.